About

$29,505

pledged of $28,000 goal

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backers

Welcome to The Eyeslicer.

We're Dan and Vanessa. We recently collaborated to create collective : unconscious, an anthology feature film where we asked five of our favorite filmmakers to adapt each other's dreams for the screen. We premiered at SXSW in March, then released the whole thing online for free (so far 275,000 people have watched it, a fact that blows our minds).

The whole process was such an inspiring experience that we decided to "stick it to the man" and quit our dayjobs to work together on a new project that's even bigger, bolder, and crazier.

It's called The Eyeslicer, and it's going to be the weirdest TV show you've ever seen.

Now we're here on Kickstarter because we need your help to finish our 10-episode first season and launch the series out into the world in a very unique way...

collective:unconscious (Photo Credit: Dagmar Weaver-Madsen)

Wait, Back Up... What is The Eyeslicer Exactly?

It's an hour-long variety series that will slice, dice, then mince your eyeballs into a delicious paella.

Each episode will play like a hand-crafted mixtape, blending short films, music videos, web series, video art, and more into a weird, wild, uninterrupted whole.

Think of it like 120 Minutes, but for alternative film instead of alternative music.

Ben Wheele

When you're watching The Eyeslicer, anything goes. You'll be introduced to work that's incredibly diverse in genre, style and aesthetic. Shorts from the depths of YouTube next to shorts from the best festivals in the world. Shorts that are hilarious, terrifying, and completely WTF next to shorts that are subtle, quiet, and beautiful. Heartbreaking next to life affirming. 16mm next to amateur computer animation. Remix art next to vérité documentary.

But everything you'll see will be united by a stalwart counter-culture ethos and a desire to push at the boundaries of what filmmaking can be.

What Films Will Be Featured?

Sorry - no spoilers!!

We want to leave the answer to that question a mystery for now. We think it'll make watching the show more fun.

But to whet your appetite, we've sprinkled some hints around the page. And we'll share a few of the 50+ filmmakers whose work you can expect to see featured: David Lowery, the Zellner Brothers, Lev Kalman & Whitney Horn, Yen Tan, Calvin Reeder, Shaka King, Ornana, Leah Shore, Colin Healey, Lauren Wolkstein, Chris Radcliffe. And many, many more - that's just the tip 'o the iceberg!!

Calvin Reeder

Why Are We Doing This?

Because at times it can feel like the entire American indie film scene has become a minor league team trying out for mainstream film and television opportunities. Fuck that - we want to build a home for weird film and TV. A community for artists who are trying to do something different and a destination for audiences hungry for bold new work.

We think there are people out there who, like us, are tired of watching mediocre, algorithm-inspired TV shows. We're making a TV show for them. For people who prefer it when the stuff they watch makes their eyes go wide instead of glazed.

And, oh yeah, but did we mention that the whole thing is going to be 'invitation only?'

Ivete Lucas and Patrick Bresnan

Did You Say 'Invitation Only?'

Yup. At least for the foreseeable future, the only way you'll be able to watch the first season of The Eyeslicer will be if you're invited to watch it. We're building a secret society of weirdos who want to watch weird things together.

How is that even going to work?

We'll start out by inviting our Eyeslicer filmmakers, partners, and Kickstarter backers (at the $20 level and higher), and hooking them up with invites of their own so they can invite others to the site . As new people join, they'lll receive invites to bring more people to the site. The bigger we grow, the more new episodes and exclusives we'll release.

Why on Earth would you release a TV show like that?

Because we don't want it to be a passive experience. We're trying to build a community from the ground up. And we think the best way to do that is to not just make this something you watch, but something you're a part of.

Jack Dunphy

So Why Are You on Kickstarter Anyway?

Because we need your help to finish the series and pay our filmmakers.

We're deep into the process of bringing The Eyeslicer to life, and have already assembled an incredible team of shorts, filmmakers, film programmers, and collaborators to help us bring the first season of The Eyeslicer to life. If all goes according to plan, we'll have our ten-episode, ten-hour first season completed and ready to launch by January.

But this is a truly scrappy and DIY production. We've covered the costs of getting everything up and running out of pocket so far. And now we're on Kickstarter because it's important to us to pay everyone involved for their work. The vast majority of the money we raise here will go directly to filmmakers to license their shorts, and to commission original content for the show.

We also need to pay for some additional stuff that's essential to getting the series finished and out into the world properly. There are costs that we just can't avoid associated with legal, graphic design, and website maintenance. Boring stuff, but if we want the show to succeed, essential stuff.

Kelly Sears

So Who's Involved?

The Eyeslicer is co-created by Dan Schoenbrun and Vanessa McDonnell.

Together they recently spearheaded collective:unconscious, a collaborative feature film in which five acclaimed filmmakers adapted each other’s dreams for the screen. In 2016, it became the first ever omnibus film to premiere in Competition at SXSW, and was praised by Rolling Stone as, "unlike anything you've ever seen with your eyes open."

Dan has worked in the independent film industry for nearly a decade at places like Kickstarter and IFP. He currently writes "Continue Watching," a regular column for FILMMAKER Magazine about the business of alternative filmmaking.

Vanessa is a prolific producer and editor and a contributor for Screen Slate, where she's written about dozens of films. She's also a programmer at Spectacle, a Brooklyn microcinema.

We've also invited two of our favorite film programmers to help us curate the series and uncover the best, weirdest films out there: Eric Hatch (the Director of Programming at the Maryland Film Festival) and Chris Osborn (the curator of DEEP Vimeo, and a wonderful filmmaker in his own right).

Plus, we've got the visionary Caspar Newbolt of Version Industries helping us with design. He's been the artist behind amazing web projects for artists like Daft Punk and Louis CK, and has designed posters and websites for many of our favorite filmmakers. And Kickstarter's own Tieg Zaharia (a brilliant software engineer, amazing human, and epic film nerd) has been helping us build our invite-only platform. We just participating in the POV Digital Lab with Tieg, and got some additional amazing design help from the generous and talented Erika Grijalva.

Needless to say, we also have dozens of amazing filmmakers as part of the team as well. These filmmakers form the true backbone of The Eyeslicer. They're the ones creating and sharing the amazing work that will make up the first season of the series.

Peyton Skyler

Let's Make Indie Film & TV Weird Again

We hope season one of The Eyeslicer will be the start of something bigger. We envision this show growing with time, and becoming an ongoing home for daring cinema. Our longterm goal is to be able to commission lots of insane new work, and to help tomorrow's visionary filmmakers launch their careers with creative autonomy.

We hope you'll join us for what's sure to be a wild experiment.

Risks and challenges

We are currently about 70% of the way through the process of putting together season one of The Eyeslicer, and in the early-to-mid stages of building the "invite only" platform where the whole thing will be housed. The project is far along enough that we are quite confident it'll get finished in a form and timeline very close to the current vision laid out here on Kickstarter.

But as with all productions - and especially one with as many moving parts as The Eyeslicer - delays and unexpected roadblocks along the way could happen. In the event that some part of our plan or our schedule changes in a significant way, we promise to keep you updated and to be totally transparent about the what, the why, and the when of it all.

And we also reserve the right to have weirder ideas about what this show is and can be as we push further towards release. Our previous project (collective:unconscious) started as a web series on Kickstarter, and eventually evolved into a feature film. We don't think that's going to be happen here, but we want to remain open and versatile to form and structure as this project continues to inch closer to reality.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge US$ 10 or more
About US$ 10

Episode 106: Double Identity

We'll send you THE FIRST THREE EPISODES of "The Eyeslicer" before anyone else in the world gets to see them. That's three full hours of psychotic cinematic goodness sure to make your eyelids sputter like a broken carburetor.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $35 or more
About $35

Episode 202: Disco Inferno

Did you know that the folks behind The Eyeslicer make movies too?! At this level, not only will we hook you up the entire first season, we'll send you a DIGITAL RETROSPECTIVE OF OUR PREVIOUS WORK, including, among other things, "collective:unconscious," "John's of 12th Street," "Go Down Death," and one of Dan's embarassing high school films.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $70 or more
About $70

Episode 216: Freedom

NEW REWARD! And this one might be our favorite of all: back at this level and Vanessa and Dan will make you a PERSONALIZED MIXTAPE, sent to you on an actual cassette (none of that Spotify playlist garbage). Plus, all of the swag at the $50 and lower reward tiers.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $80 or more
About $80

Episode 218: Pool Hall Blues

So you like swag, eh?? Well have all the swag in the world!!

Along with the entire first season, we'll send you a SWEET EYESLICER TOTE BAG sure to make all the other kids at school piss-their-pants-jealous. Inside you'll find a PERSONALIZED THANK YOU LETTER and maybe even a cursed object or two.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $135 or more
About $135

Episode 304: One Strobe Over the Line

Admit it - you crave eternal humiliation for your obsession with transgressive art. Well good news - we're adding you to a special section of the season one credits called THE SICK WALL OF SLICED FREAKS.

Just send us your name and headshot. We'll slice your eyes good and proper and add you into the credits. There you'll remain for all eternity for your neighbors to gawk at.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $250 or more
About $250

Episode 401: The Leap Back

Your bachelorette pad and/or church basement is going to look pretty sweet with this LIMITED EDITION EYESLICER POSTER, signed by Vanessa & Dan, and featuring custom art designed by one of our filmmakers!!

And you know what, because there's room in the poster tube, we'll throw in a "collective:unconscious" poster too, just for kicks!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $650 or more
About $650

SPECTACLE PRIVATE PARTY

Bask in the IRL glory of Brooklyn's coolest movie theater with up to 28 of your friends during your own private 2 hour rental. We will either assault your senses with the first two episodes of The Eyeslicer or you can watch anything else of your choosing. You are the decider.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge US$ 1,000 or more
About US$ 1,000

Episode 417: Roberto!

'Sup CO-PRODUCER? You heard us right - at this level, you are now officially part of the team, with a rad title and all. To prepare you for this important role, Vanessa will give you a cool haircut (results not guaranteed).

It's the quickest way possible to ensure that you'll never work in this town again.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $3,000 or more
About $3,000

Episode 522: The Curse of Ptah-Hotep

Did you grow up watching Matt Pinfield and Kurt Loder thinking "God I wish I was them!!" Well now you can be, because at this level you'll CO-HOST ONE OF THE EPISODES OF THE SHOW (we get to choose your outfit, though).

Just think about the bragging rights. You'll be the envy of the entire mall food court.

(NOTE: You must be in NY and able to work around our shooting schedule!!)

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $5,000 or more
About $5,000

Episode 503: Leaping of the Shrew

You are now officially our ASSOCIATE PRODUCER.

To say thanks, Dan and Vanessa will come over to your apartment (as long as it's in NY) and Dan will clean for you while Vanessa prepares a classy four-course meal. If you have a piano we will try our best to play it. Or not. Whichever you prefer. You're the Associate Producer, after all.